Circular No. 08 TC/TTCT guiding the implementation of the Business Registration Charter for commerce, industry, and service

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing the Business Registration Ordinance for Commerce, Industry, and Services

The Council of Ministers issued Decree No. 76-CP on April 8, 1974, promulgating the Business Registration Ordinance for commerce, industry, and services in the collective and individual sectors (published in Supplement No. 5 of the Official Gazette on April 15, 1974), replacing the ordinance issued under Decree No. 488-TTg on March 30, 1955. The Ministry of Finance hereby provides guidelines for its implementation as follows:

1. Grasp clearly the purpose of business registration as defined in the ordinance - Business registration is an inventory process aimed at identifying business establishments in the collective and individual sectors under state management, serving as an organizational component of social labor to engage in proper economic activities according to labor distribution plans, industrial sector planning, and state management policies and regulations, with the aim of promoting the positive effects of these business establishments in meeting societal needs and addressing current negative practices such as unorganized development and illegal operations in various forms.

The requirements of business registration include ensuring that state management agencies have comprehensive and substantive information about business establishments operating in accordance with the Party's and State's policies and directions, thereby facilitating the continued transformation of capitalist businesses. The State relies on business registration to plan a network including state-owned enterprises and organized and managed individual households, thus effectively addressing the issue of illegal business establishments lacking state-owned alternatives, which disrupt supply-demand balance and lead to uncontrolled expansion. Business registration also involves rationally organizing small-scale production and trade, while combating speculative activities, smuggling, and the concealment and consumption of stolen goods and illegal income, tax evasion, and other unlawful acts to ensure effective management and proper allocation of social labor. Therefore, business registration requires a thorough understanding of economic conditions, living standards, and organizational structures of business establishments, not merely administrative paperwork that could legitimize illegal business operations.

Provincial and municipal People's Committees need to organize research and signing of the business registration ordinance, involving relevant departments, mass organizations, and district, ward, and town People's Committees, to fully understand the purpose, requirements, and complexity of business registration, correct simplistic perceptions, and prevent superficial approaches. Close coordination must be ensured among grassroots-level authorities, supervisory departments, and comprehensive management departments, in accordance with the division of responsibilities stipulated in the ordinance, to achieve successful business registration results that meet state management requirements, ensure proper employment and business activities for traders, and adequately address societal needs.

2. Industrial Sector Planning and Preparation of Registration Plans

In accordance with Article 16 of the ordinance and within their respective areas of management, departments such as Internal Trade, Foodstuffs, Health, Culture, Transportation, Construction, and the Federation of Small Craft Cooperatives have the responsibility to guide industrial sector planning (comprehending overall social demand and market conditions, the capacity of state-owned enterprises to meet these demands, determining the proportion of collective and individual sectors in terms of industries, trades, and products, concretizing registration declaration plans and forms for business establishments under their jurisdiction); improving or reorganizing business establishments, concretizing registration declaration plans and forms for business establishments under their jurisdiction.

Provincial and municipal People's Committees should review the situation of business establishments in their localities, develop business registration plans, coordinate with labor registration, job placement, foodstuff management, and expansion of state-owned service networks, instruct district, ward, and town People's Committees to establish registration oversight committees - improve surrounding departments, particularly the Financial Departments - to fulfill their roles in the registration oversight committee - issue announcements publicizing the effective implementation of the ordinance in their localities, and direct the dissemination and explanation of the ordinance through local newspapers and radio broadcasts, within business establishments, among the populace, and in state enterprises and agencies. For war veterans or retirees engaged in business, coordination with veteran affairs agencies should be conducted to explain the ordinance.

3. Conduct Declaration and Acceptance of Declarations from All Business Establishments Mentioned in Article 2, Including Both Professional and Non-Professional Establishments, Fixed and Mobile Business Establishments, etc.

For employees facing family financial difficulties, enterprises and agencies should cooperate with neighborhood units (ward blocks) and villages to assist families in finding employment and increasing income. During this registration period, enterprises and agencies must contact neighborhood units (ward blocks) and villages to understand the number of employees and their families engaged in additional business activities, providing guidance on lawful and proper business operations.

For retired employees who are now unable to work due to health reasons and face financial difficulties, engaging in business for livelihood purposes, they must also declare and register according to general regulations to receive appropriate guidance on lawful business operations.

According to the ordinance on forms such as "corporations, workshops,"... facilities called "cooperative enterprises, agricultural machinery county enterprises," etc., which are not state-owned enterprises... must be reorganized into cooperatives and must follow the management regime for cooperatives. The relevant administrative sector has the responsibility to review various types of facilities, especially groups, in comparison with the rules or organizational regulations issued by the state, to officially recognize the organization and the cooperative leader (if it is a cooperative) or group leader (if it is a group); must confirm the list of cooperative members, group members, and non-official laborers to prevent the misuse of cooperative member status to engage in illegal business activities, exploit workers, or lure state technical workers... Must confirm the main equipment, machines, production tools, with valid purchase invoices or self-made and self-modified items; in cases where there are no valid documents, there must be a certificate from the neighborhood (block) confirming that they are current assets being used at the business premises; confirm the main raw materials and goods with legal documents to prevent businesses from colluding to steal from the state or harboring and selling stolen goods.

Application forms for registration must be recognized by the local authority to be valid. Certificates of business organization form must be recognized by the supervising sector. Conducting inspections and confirmations now is a complex struggle, requiring coordination with related sectors to ensure consensus when issuing registration permit certificates.

4. The issuance of business permits must comply with the principles stipulated in the ordinance: It must ensure the unified management policy of the state, and shall not register for businesses in industries prohibited by the state, or for products managed uniformly by the state for collection and distribution...

Regarding the conditions for practicing a profession: according to Article 3 of the Ordinance, individuals engaged in professions requiring technical skills (using engines, repairing watches, electrical appliances, tailoring) must be tested by the relevant sector. Individuals engaged in professions affecting public health (food preparation, food processing...) must be examined by the health department at the district level or higher to see if they have infectious diseases. Individuals engaged in professions affecting public order (such as typing, photocopying, engraving seals, making medals, badges, insignias...) must be certified by the police department at the district level or higher to have the necessary qualifications for their profession. For businesses related to safety, hygiene, and public order, it is necessary to investigate conveniences and inconveniences, seek opinions from residents in neighborhoods (blocks) in villages.

Issuing business permits involves many state policies and management systems; having a single sector examine and decide will lead to dispersion, failing to ensure unified local government management over all aspects, particularly labor management. Therefore, the issuance of business permits must be decided by the People's Committee of the district or ward, town; the assisting committee has a council whose functions and responsibilities are defined in Articles 5 and 6.

The supervising sectors must thoroughly review the facilities applying for registration, propose opinions before the Council. The labor sector must consider and compare with labor standards and recruitment plans, the police sector must check household registrations and compare with standards if engaging in professions such as engraving seals, photocopying, typing, etc., and leadership positions; the finance sector must review the contents of application forms for production industries, and invite the trade sector (the company dealing with that product) to participate, to examine the direction of resolving raw materials and methods of controlling sources and sales of products in accordance with state policies and systems.

- The Council reviews each facility individually. When changing professions or not allowing certain product categories, plans to expand the state-owned network as a replacement must be made. For professions or product categories without replacement conditions, temporary permits should be issued. The labor sector resolves employment issues for those who need to change professions, prioritizing those with more difficult living conditions.

- The Council must carefully examine the organization and management of cooperatives and groups before issuing registration permits; if they do not meet collective production relations, they must be reorganized by the supervising sector according to current organizational rules or regulations.

The financial agency is responsible for recording the minutes of Council meetings, noting unanimous or differing opinions, the Chairman's decision, the number of permitted and non-permitted registrations, for the members to sign on each meeting's minutes. Based on these minutes, the financial agency writes the permits, submits them to the Chairman for signature to issue to the applicants, or return applications from facilities not permitted to register, clearly stating the reasons for denial. To avoid hindering people's business activities (for new businesses), the time from receiving the application to issuing the permit generally should not exceed one month; if additional time is needed for investigation and verification, this must be reported to the applicant.

Business facilities must frame and hang the registration permit paper in a visible location at the store or business premises for easy viewing by state officials and the public for inspection at any time.

All business facilities granted permits under the old format (including those newly registered from the beginning of 1974 to date) wishing to continue operating must reapply for registration according to the ordinance and the guidance provided in this circular.

The business registration declaration must be completed by the third quarter of 1974 and ensure its effectiveness. After registration, it is necessary to coordinate with relevant sectors to organize a round of inspections, encourage and motivate establishments that comply well with the registration content; for establishments that refuse to declare or engage in business without registration or conduct business contrary to the registration, strict measures must be taken according to the Business Registration Regulation and related legal regulations such as the Commercial and Industrial Tax Regulation, Decision No. 75-CP dated April 8, 1974 on food management, etc., absolutely not allowing situations where undeclared or unauthorized businesses continue to operate as they currently do.

5. Reporting System:

The implementation of the Business Registration Regulation involves many classes of people and various types of economic entities, especially concerning the employment of a large number of workers in commerce and industry, therefore, it requires strict guidance from top to bottom.

In the 1974 registration, the People's Committees of provinces and cities must report their implementation plans to the Prime Minister, regularly reporting the results of the work done and any difficulties encountered, seeking opinions (the report should be sent in two copies, one copy sent to the Implementation Directive Board of Resolution 228). Each relevant sector must report and seek guidance from higher-level sectors monthly; the Finance Department must report the overall situation to the Ministry of Finance.

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